He said “boss” three times in two sentences
Abou Diaby turned up to work. Half-time in Paris FC-Strasbourg, a Ligue1+ studio, the usual pundit shift. Then Arsene Wenger walked through the door.
The channel had set him up. You could read it on his face.
“A massive pleasure to see the boss again, honestly, you really surprised me. So happy to see you again, boss.” Diaby is 40. He still talks about Wenger like a kid from Auxerre who has just stepped off the plane in London.
“He meant an enormous amount to me, and as I have always said, I will never be grateful enough to you for giving me the chance to play at the very highest level, it will stay with me forever.”
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Wenger skipped the pleasantries
No small talk from the Alsace-born manager. He went straight at it.
“When we saw him as a young player, it was far harder to see what he did not have than what he did have. He had the size, the burst, the dribble, the football brain…”
Then the part every Arsenal supporter can recite. “We went through quite a few tough moments together because he was often injured, and he was unbelievably brave coming back. He always had everyone at the club on his side because of his mentality, and his outstanding talent.”
Injured. Wenger did not soften it, and why would he. He spent years watching that talent disappear into treatment rooms.
The endorsement, delivered deadpan
Diaby has been on Ligue1+ duty since the summer. Wenger got asked about the new job.
“Apparently he is just as good as a pundit, the man can do everything,” the former Arsenal manager said, smiling. “Do I approve of him? Yes, I approve. He works hard and he is intelligent, which helps.”
Fifteen years of a career narrated through absences, and then that, live, from the man who signed him. It will not give the seasons back. It probably helps.
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